The relationship has ended, but that doesn't mean that you and your ex are going to be ready to let go of each other. If you still have feelings for your ex-partner and are wondering if she feels the same, you may want to take note of how your ex interacts with you and how your ex acts around others. The best way to know, however, is to have an honest conversation with your ex — trying to interpret your ex's behavior is a rather imperfect way to try and determine if she may be interested in renewing a relationship.

Think about what you know about your ex. Tuning in to your knowledge of yourself, your ex, and your relationship is the best possible way to know how to interpret observed behavior. Think back about your relationship and how your ex communicates and deals with conflict. Is he blunt and straightforward? Then he's probably not hiding his feelings and you'll be able to tell if he misses you. Did he used to avoid you when he was mad and upset? Then his silence now probably means he's not pining for you — he's probably upset and angry and doesn't want to talk. Is he someone who lingers on things and dwells on the past? Then maybe he is thinking a lot about you. Use what you know about your ex and his personality to interpret his behavior toward you.

Keep in mind that behavioral interpretations are filtered through the observers biases and wishes (when it's a personal relationship), and thus you tend to see things that are not actually there. If your ex is big on texting and you haven't heard a word from him since your breakup, don't try to interpret that silence to mean he misses you — he'd probably be texting you if he missed you. Try to look at his behavior from a more objective perspective.

Note how often she contacts you. If your ex doesn’t miss you, she probably only contacts you if she really has to (for example, to arrange picking up her things from your house). If she does miss you, she will probably have a hard time resisting the urge to call, text, email, etc.

When your ex gets in touch with you, she may not have a specific reason. She might say something like, “Hey! I was just wondering how you’re doing.”

An exception to this might be if your ex was the one that ended the relationship, but also expressed a desire to remain friends. If this is the case, getting in touch with you could be a sign that she misses you, but she may also simply be trying to stay friends.

If your ex is constantly “drunk dialing” you, which means that she contacts you in the middle of the night after she's had a few drinks (and thus, is less inhibited) there is a pretty good chance that she has some feelings that she hasn't been able to work through.

Think about how he behaves when he contacts you. If he is contacting you, he probably is looking for excuses for calling so that he isn't continually contacting you for no reason. He might ask for advice or for help dealing with a problem. He might also try to steer the conversation towards deeper topics. For example, he might talk about things he wants to accomplish in his life or thoughts he's been having about the kind of life he wants to live.

When he contacts you does he “accidentally” call you by a pet name that he used when you were together? This slip of the tongue could indicate that he still thinks of you in that way.

Note how long she takes to get back to you. When, and if, you contact your ex, how quickly does she respond to your text or email? How long does it take to call you back? Although one instance of taking hours to respond doesn’t necessarily mean anything, if she consistently ignores you for hours or even days, she probably isn't missing you that much.[1]

If an ex is completely ignoring your calls and messages, avoid sending more messages or calling again. If you’re missing her, this can be very hard to do; however, imposing a rule on yourself that you won’t get in touch with her will help you move on.

Observe their body language. If you do end up in the same place as your ex, notice his body language around you. If your ex is avoiding eye contact, has his arms or legs crossed, and isn’t smiling, he probably isn't very happy to be around you.[2]

Although body language is a great indicator of how a person is feeling in that moment, it won’t tell you everything. For example, your ex may miss you terribly, but acts like he wants to have nothing do with you in your presence. This may be because he is afraid of being hurt again.

Try to observe his body language and combine it with the other information you have. For example, if your ex’s body language is suggesting that he doesn't want to be around you, but he is calling you every day, then it may be that he does miss you, but he is feeling defensive in your presence.

Notice if she shows up in places you frequent. If your ex randomly drops by your work, or shows up at a place that she knows you frequent, it probably wasn’t an accident.[3] If you have mutual friends, she might find out where you will be and “coincidentally” be there too.

If your ex does show up somewhere that you are, don’t forget to observe her body language. Does she keep glancing in your direction? If so, she is probably trying to observe your behavior, too.

Browse his social media. If you are still friends on social media, observe his postings and interactions carefully. Is he posting lots of vague and/or sad posts (sad songs about lost love, etc.)? Is he commenting on old pictures of the two of you or “liking” them? If so, it may be a sign that he is having a hard time dealing with the break up.

Remember though that social media is not always an accurate depiction of what’s going on in someone’s life. Even someone who posts lots of pictures looking like he has the perfect life could be dealing with major emotional issues.

Don’t go overboard with browsing social media. Respect the privacy of your ex, and limit yourself to checking once each day, at the most.

Notice how she acts around you in social situations. If you and your ex still hang out in a group of mutual friends, carefully (but discreetly) observe how she behaves when you are in a group of friends together. If your ex seems agitated when hanging out with you in a group, and tries to avoid interacting with you, it might be because they she is still dealing with lingering feelings.[4]

Be careful though. Your ex may still be dealing with old feelings, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she is missing you. For example, she may be very angry at you because you really hurt her with your actions. Try to keep your judgements about her behavior within the context of your breakup and past interactions.

Take note if your ex constantly glances at you even when interacting with other people. This could mean that she is interested in observing your behavior to see how you’re feeling, too.

Talk to mutual friends. If you have mutual friends that you trust to keep quiet about your investigating, ask them if your ex has mentioned anything about you. Your mutual friends will probably be able to give you great insight into how your ex is doing.

If you have mutual friends, but are afraid they’ll tell your ex you asked about him, you can try asking very casually. For example, instead of being really direct, you could say something like, “I was just wondering how [name of your ex] is doing? I know he had a big exam coming up, and I hope it went well.” They may still catch on, but it won’t be as obvious as saying, “Has [name of your ex] said anything about me?”

Avoid constantly hassling your mutual friends about the topic, though. It’s OK to bring it up once or twice, but if you bring it up all the time, they will probably get annoyed.

If your mutual friends say something like, “I’m sorry, but I really don’t want to get involved in the situation” then respect their wishes. This doesn’t mean they don’t care about you; it means that they care about both and don’t want to get dragged into a “he-said-she-said” scenario or choose sides.

Decide whether or not this is a good idea. The easiest and most direct way to find out whether or not your ex misses you is to ask him. Unfortunately, for most people, this is also the most intimidating way; however, simply talking with him is likely the quickest way to figuring out what's going on.

Be aware that, depending on the person, some people may not be honest about their feelings, especially if they are afraid that you are trying to hurt them.

If you and your ex aren’t able to communicate without getting into a big fight, meeting up to try and have conversation about a topic like this may not be the best idea.

Asking your ex outright seems scary, but it can save you a lot of confusion in the long-term — instead of spending time trying to interpret his silence or what, exactly, his use of that smiley emoji meant, you'll know flat-out if he wants to get back together. If he doesn't then you can begin the work of letting go and moving on and not waste your time on someone who no longer wants to date you.

Get in touch with her. You can contact her via text or email, but the fastest way is probably just to call her. Keep your conversation as light and friendly as possible. Ask her if they’d like to meet up for lunch or coffee because you want to talk about something with her.

Understand that she might refuse. If she does refuse to see you it’s a good sign that she doesn't miss you, or if she does, she isn't ready to see you yet. Try not to get angry. Instead, be respectful of her wishes.

Keep it light. If this is the first time you are seeing each other since the break up the situation will probably feel a bit awkward. Take the initiative and try to keep the situation as light as possible. Ask him how things are going for him (e.g. with school or work), and let him know a few things that are going on in your life.[5]

Try to keep the conversation on light things and don’t just jump straight into talking about your relationship. This will help lighten the mood, and let him know that you aren’t trying to start a fight.

Wait for the right moment. If you are at a restaurant or cafe, and are ordering food and/or drinks, it might be a good idea to wait until you have gotten your order to bring up the reason you wanted to meet. This will ensure that you aren’t interrupted continually by the staff wanting to take your order, bring you your food, etc.[6]

If you are ordering drinks, avoid alcoholic beverages (if it is relevant for you). Though you might think having a few drinks would help you relax it may also lead you to saying things you didn’t want to say or you might get emotional.

Be honest. Although it might be scary, at some point, you will need to bring up the reason for meeting. Start by saying that you appreciate him meeting with you, and that you’d like to talk about some things that have been on your mind. If you still have feelings for him, then be honest about it.[7]

If you miss him, telling him the truth about your feelings may make you more vulnerable, but it may also mean he is more likely to open up about his feelings for you.

For example, you could say, “The truth is, I’ve been thinking about you a lot. I know we broke up, and I respect your feelings, but I’d like to find out how you’re feeling about me.”

You could potentially do this over the phone or over text, but having a conversation in person will allow you to observe his body language and facial expressions.

Decide what to do next. If it turns out your ex misses you, and you miss her too, then it’s time to decide what to do about those feelings. Try to have an objective conversation about the reasons you broke up, and whether or not it’s worth giving it another try.[8]

If it turns out she doesn't miss you, then you know you can move on with your life. Don’t try to make her feel things that she doesn't.

Although it is very difficult, try to think rationally about whether giving it a second try is a good idea. You may discover you both miss each other, but getting back together still isn't a good idea. For example, if you fought constantly about basic values (e.g. religion or ideas about how you should live your life) giving it another go probably won’t end any differently.

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What does it mean when your ex-boyfriend texts, "Good morning. Hope you have a nice day"?

Best practice with text messages is to to take them at face value. This message likely means that he hopes you have a good morning and a nice day, and he is just being friendly. If you feel there is an ulterior message here, or know from experience that your ex does not usually come right out with his feelings, then ask about it. Simply let him know that his texting you is confusing because it makes you think he wants more. He will either fess up to his ulterior hope, or set you straight. Either way you don’t have to worry and wonder about it any more.

It could mean that he/she is flirting with you or they could just be trying to make a transition into friendship. If they never flirted with you in that way before, they are likely trying to be friendly.

My ex blocked me on social media, and I'm still in love with him. Recently he has followed half of my friends on social media. What does that mean?

wikiHow Contributor

Community Answer

He may be trying to check up on you through your friends' posts, or he may have a crush on someone else in your friend group. He might also just be hoping they'll follow back to increase his follower count.

It means that your ex just didn't think a romantic relationship would work out, but likes you enough that they still want to have some sort of connection with you. Hence the fact that they wanted to stay friends.

Remember to let go of your pride when talking with your ex. It can be easy to become sarcastic and defensive if you’re feeling unsure about their feelings towards you, but behaving this way will put them off of being honest with you.